Multifunction hydraulic head suitable for being applied to machines for bending and forming metallic sheets

ABSTRACT

A multifunction hydraulic head for use with forming and bending machines for sheet metal and/or metal profiles is equipped with carriages ( 15 ) that slide horizontally on guide and shift shafts. Each carriage ( 15 ) of the said machine is equipped with a bracket ( 17 ) that is integral with the respective carriage, the bracket supporting the interchangeable work assemblies ( 18, 19, 20, 21 ) which include a mobile matrix ( 22, 24, 26, 28 ) and a fixed pressing unit ( 23, 25, 27, 29 ); furthermore, the sheet metal ( 11 ) is inserted between the matrices and the pressing unit of the installed unit, to be spot processed by the said work assemblies in accordance with the desired shape.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention concerns a multifunction hydraulic head for usewith forming and bending machines for sheet metal and/or metal profiles.

More particularly, the present invention refers to a multifunctionhydraulic head that can be incorporated into forming and bendingmachines for sheet metal and metal profiles, in order to work sheetmetal involving the following processes: punching, deep drawing orpicking, embossing and fastening or cold welding.

The multifunction hydraulic head replaces the traditional system forprocessing panels and sheets, which until now have usually been obtainedusing processing techniques with dedicated machines, with the resultthat further processing involved the use of additional machinesspecially created for each processing stage.

The present invention has applications in the mechanical industry and inparticular in the production of mechanical machines and equipment forprocessing metal sheets and panels in general.

BACKGROUND ART

It is known that processing semi finished laminates and/or metalsections, for example in order to produce metal box structures or plateswith raised edges that are formed in various ways, is generally achievedusing bending machines that usually comprise:

a fixed bed to support the material, for example sheet metal, to bebent;

a support frame for a clamping press;

a punch, being part of the press, and a corresponding counter-punchacting as means for clamping the material during the bending phase;

one or more bending blades that can be moved towards the material beingprocessed;

appropriate kinematic motions designed to move the bending blade orblades along the bed for forming the piece clamped between the punch andthe counter-punch;

means for moving the sheet metal or the profile towards the blades inworking conditions;

transducers or sensors of various types, to control the process,connected to an electronic unit which controls the production process.

A bending machine of the type described above, marketed by theapplicant, comprises a blade-holder structure with a “C” shapedcross-section, mobile in two reciprocally orthogonal directions withrespect to the fixed bed, on which the bending blade(s) is (are) fixed.

A disadvantage of the known bending machines relates to the fact thatthe blade-holder structure employs bending tools whose use is ratherlimited, that is, generally only suitable for bending sheet metal.

However, it is well known that sheet metal is also subject to furtherprocessing, for example it must undergo operations involving punching,deep drawing or picking, embossing and fastening, which involve almostfixed cold welding using special forming punches, or other operations tobe performed with regard to the edges or the angular parts of thestructure.

In such cases, in fact, there are no automatic machines thatautomatically perform all of these processes, and as a result the onlypossibility is using dedicated machines, each of which is equipped witha tool for processing the sheet metal using appropriate assemblies.

This processing method, however, does not produce high-quality finishedproducts, and in addition it is not possible to perform the processingon a continuous basis or with the same machine, as a result of whichprocessing takes longer from an operational point of view, which makesit awkward to synchronize all of the various phases, particularly whendealing with a large number of parts to process.

Furthermore, another disadvantage that is quite significant in relationto traditional working systems, stems from the fact that it is notpossible to carry out this work on lengthy items, panels or sheet metal.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention proposes to provide a multifunction hydraulic headfor use with forming and bending machines for sheet metal and/or metalprofiles capable of eliminating or at least reducing the disadvantagesdescribed above.

In addition, the invention proposes to provide a multifunction hydraulichead for use with forming and bending machines for sheet metal and/ormetal profiles capable of increasing the working capacity of the formingmachine, adding functionality that was previously not available.

This may be achieved using a multifunction hydraulic head for use withforming and bending machines for sheet metal and/or metal profiles,whose features are described in the main claim.

The dependent claims of the solution in question describe advantageousembodiments of the invention.

The main advantages of this solution, in addition to those that arisefrom the streamlined construction, concern first of all the fact that itis no longer necessary to use multiple machines dedicated to theprocessing to be accomplished, namely punching, deep drawing, embossingand fastening.

The device according to the invention proposes a basic purpose of makingit possible to work sheet metal pieces, including those that are largein size, so that the above processes may be performed using a singlemulti-function machine.

The purposes and advantages outlined above may be achieved, according tothe invention, using a multifunction hydraulic head for use with formingand bending machines for sheet metal and/or metal profiles that comprisea fixed bed for supporting the sheet metal being processed, a frameintended to support a toolholder structure on at least one carriage,preferably on a pair of carriages, that move in opposite directionsalong parallel worm screws, along a horizontal axis, in relation to apress that is suitable for clamping the piece of sheet metal during thebending process.

On each of the said carriages, work assemblies which are the subject ofthe invention are mounted that are interchangeable in relation to acommon support structure, the said support structure being substantiallyC-shaped or in a shape that is suitable to contain the main body of theworking head, which is accordingly integral with each carriage, andwhich is equipped with processing tools in the form of a fastening unit,an embossing or bending unit, a punching unit and a picking or deepdrawing unit.

Each of the said units house various tools that are suitable for alltypes of processing so that, in order to perform a particular type ofoperation on the sheet metal, the operator need only mount theprocessing tools onto the carriage/s, choosing the most appropriate toolfor the purpose at hand.

As can be seen, the use of such a multifunction head can increaseproductivity, since the operator's functions are limited to a few simplemanual actions to change the processing tools, with all of theadvantages that can be derived therefrom.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the invention will become evident onreading the following description of one embodiment of the invention,including but not limited to the examples described below, with the helpof the drawings shown in the attached pages, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a frontal schematic view of the machine equipped with atleast one multifunction hydraulic head according to the invention as awhole;

FIG. 2 shows a lateral schematic view of the machine fitted with themultifunction hydraulic head placed in relation to of the centralprocessing unit;

FIG. 3 shows a lateral schematic view of one of the multifunctionhydraulic heads according to the invention represented by the fasteningunit;

FIG. 4 shows a lateral schematic view of one of the multifunctionhydraulic heads according to the invention represented by the embossingor bending unit;

FIG. 5 shows a lateral schematic view of one of the multifunctionhydraulic heads according to the invention represented by the punchingunit;

FIGS. 6 and 7 show lateral schematic views of one of the multifunctionhydraulic heads according to the invention represented by the picking ordeep drawing unit respectively in a lowered working phase, in contactwith the piece and in a raised phase.

DESCRIPTION OF ONE EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

Making reference first of all to FIG. 1, a forming and bending machine10 for sheet metal and/or metal profiles, comprises a fixed bed that isnot shown, for supporting the sheet metal 11 to be processed, whichremains clamped against the same pressing element 12 placed against afixed lower element 13 where the panel is inserted to be held in ahorizontal position.

The machine 10 also has a frame 14 whose purpose is to support a pair ofcarriages 15 placed on revolving helical arbors 16 or worm screws,allowing translation in a horizontal direction of the carriages.

There are two worm screws 16 because the machine is usually equippedwith two carriages placed on revolving helical arbors arranged in aparallel orientation, one above the other in a vertical plane.

Each carriage 15 is equipped with its own multifunction hydraulic unitaccording to the invention, which are all mounted onto a bracket 17 thatis integral with the respective carriage and which are accordinglyarranged in a symmetrical fashion around the centre of the machine.

The bracket 17 supports the work assemblies that are the subject of theinvention, which are made up of the units shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, or afastening unit 18 (FIG. 3), an embossing or bending unit 19 (FIG. 4), apunching unit 20 (FIG. 5) and a picking or deep drawing unit 21 (FIGS. 6and 7).

Each of the aforementioned work units is equipped with an upper workelement or matrix and a lower fixed punch element, whose shape dependson the matrix template.

The panel or an edge thereof to be processed is inserted and placed ontothe lower pressing element, so that, upon a command entered by anoperator or by means of preset automatic commands, the mobile upperelement or matrix comes into contact with the panel to be processed,pressing and forming it in accordance with the desired shape using therelevant pressing unit.

As can be seen in the figure, the fastening unit 18 is equipped with amatrix 22 and a pressing element 23, the embossing or bending unit 19 isequipped with a matrix 24 and a pressing element 25, the punching unit20 is equipped with a matrix 22 and a pressing element 23, and lastlythe picking or deep drawing unit 21 is equipped with a matrix 28 and apressing unit 29.

FIGS. 6 and 7 indicate an example of how the forming assembly operates,and in this case the picking or deep drawing assembly 21 presents thework tool 28 respectively in a lowered position and in contact with thesheet metal and in a raised position.

Any other tool equipped with templates other than those illustrated anddescribed may be mounted onto the support structure 17, according to thetype of processing to be performed on the sheet metal to be formed.

The forming assemblies can also be mounted onto any axis, includinghorizontal types and even upside-down, that is in an orientation inwhich the lower element is placed over the top.

The invention is described above with reference to a preferredembodiment. It is nevertheless clear that the invention is susceptibleto numerous variations within the framework of technical equivalents.

1. A multifunction hydraulic head for use with forming and bendingmachines for sheet metal and/or metal profiles, equipped with carriagesthat slide horizontally on guide and shift shafts, wherein each carriageof the said machine is equipped with a bracket that is integral with therespective carriage, the bracket supporting interchangeable workassemblies including a mobile matrix and a fixed pressing unit whereby asheet metal is inserted between the matrices and the pressing unit ofthe installed unit, in order to be spot processed by said workassemblies in accordance with the desired shape.
 2. The head of claim 1,in which the said interchangeable work assemblies include at least onefastening unit.
 3. The head of claim 1, in which the interchangeablework assemblies include at least one embossing or bending unit.
 4. Thehead of claim 1, in which said interchangeable work assemblies includeat least one punching unit.
 5. The head of claim 1, in which saidinterchangeable work assemblies include at least one picking or deepdrawing unit.
 6. The head of claim 2, in which the fastening unit isequipped with a matrix and a pressing unit.
 7. The head of claim 3, inwhich the embossing or bending unit is equipped with a matrix and apressing unit.
 8. The head of claim 4, in which the punching unit isequipped with a matrix and a pressing unit.
 9. The head of claim 5, inwhich the picking or deep drawing unit is equipped with a matrix and apressing unit.
 10. The head of claim 1, in which any tool equipped withdifferent templates may be mounted onto the support structure, dependingon the processing to be performed on the sheet metal to be formed. 11.The head of claim 1, in which the assemblies may be mounted onto anyaxis, including horizontal types, and may be mounted upside-down, thatis in an orientation in which the lower element is placed over the top.